alright.

getting back on board.

hmm.. kinda been a while..

yeah, looks like i slacked for a few months.. but that's only because i've been hard-coreing it at college.. if you don't watch it, these lectures will suck your life away.. but really, i've been way blessed these past few months.. I don't know what God's thinkin, giving me all that He has.. but nevertheless He is.. and I am far more than thankful for it..

well. that's basically it. I just needed to tell the internet since I've told everyone else that God is sweet. and I'm glad He is mine and I'm glad I am His..

love yall.

day ten.

we went out to meet up with three of our new friends today. and we discussed every topic imaginable. and ate crazy new indian food. and they LOVED watching us eat it. it was apparently funny. and then for dessert, they took us to this place that has been there since the 30's. so its basically the only thing there that's kept up. and we ate, well, dipped this cool dessert bread in this chai tea. mmm. and all the while having waaaay awesome conversation. 

and then we went back to one of our friends house, and checked out her amaaaazing portfolio, (crazy talented photographer, i tell ya.). met her parents. and read their magazine. ((i know this is hard to believe. but two of our friends work for an indian magazine, and im so sorry i can't recall the name, but its the vouge of india. i think the name of it is even vouge translated.. cool, right??))

i really can't express how great this day was. we were able to share so much of Christ has done in our lives. and they were so totally engaged and wanted to know more and more. and baby, we gave it to em.

antyways. when we were leaving, my friend tells me, ((and this is EPIC.))

"After talking to you guys, you've really changed our views of Christians. and Americans. You do not fit the stereotype."

:) who knows??

day nine.

today. was crazy rickshaw day.

rickshaw driver #1.

had a "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" sticker inside the rickshaw. so, i had to break the boy/girl communication rule to ask. just had to. i said, 'hey man!! you believe in Jesus?!" he turned around, looked me in the eye. and said in a like, umm duh way, "well, yeah!" short. blunt. beautiful. 

rickshaw driver #2.

haha.. this still makes me laugh out loud. because rickshaws are pretty much the jankiest form of transportation ever. just to honest. but this dude.. had a system in his little rickshaw. i mean, big ole speakers. tweeters and woofers and all. it was soo funny. we jammed all over the town to some intense indian beats. 

rickshaw driver #3.

almost got in a fight. by the rickshaw pimp.

honest.

apparently, when there is a group of rickshaws, they establish who gets the next group of people that need a ride. well, we just walked up and jumped in one.  and as the guy starts to drive off, the rickshaw pimp comes over and hits our rickshaw, making it shut-off, of course.. and they went at it.. yelling LOUD, in this foreign language. making just the biggest scene ever.. and rickshaw pimp would just bow up, and our guy would pull his fist back, and rickshaw pimp would kick our rickshaw. it was intense. and we were just sitting there. debating what we should do. but then thankfully, another guy came up and grabbed the pimp and drug him away, and as he did, he kicked the rickshaw, starting it up again.

 oooooh!! we met this pizza hut waiter boy that we just knew HAD to know Jesus.. cause he was the happiest guy in this whole country.. so we called him Jesus.. ((not to his face tho)) and well, today, he gave us free dessert.  :)

and we went shopping today, and i tell you what. i don't know if people were just super nice to us, because we were american and they thought we had a lot of money to spend at their businesses, but they were waaay friendly.. we had so much fun.. they just hung out and joked along with us the whole time we were shopping.. we just shared so many stories, laughs, and bargains.. it was seriously so much fun. i wish the american shopping experience could be as grand.

and this morning, we woke up to check out this whole mosk call thing.. which is just where people wake up at like 5. (mind you, that people do not even get out until 11 here..) and they get up to ring these bells and play these drums for all the gods.. and we're up hearing this stuff, and it was pathetic.

empty.

just a repetitive cry.

sad.

but hey, that's why we're here!! to let em know!!

:)

day eight.

Facts.

1. 400,000 out of 600,000 villages do not even have a single christian presence. ((not a person who keeps Jesus to himself, not someone who knows about Jesus, i mean, not even a single PRESENCE!!))

2. northern indians look oriental. and we found this underground northern indian church this morning. best church i've ever been to. they talked like chinese people. the preacher started with, and i quote, "I ROVE THE LORD!!"

3. we stopped a parade. literally. the people broke away from the line-up to come take pictures with us and dance for us. ((as you can assume, this story is waaay more extravagant to type on a blog. this story requires hand movements. big ones.))

4. to further convince me it's a bad idea to give little children money, this little girl followed us for about a mile, and we finally stopped to give her some rupees and she shook her head and went to walk away. then we found fruit gushers. and she ran back. ((and honestly, who wouldn't? i'm beginning to think we should start a fruit gusher ministry.. i know if someone showed me the love of Christ via such candy, i'd surely believe in Him.. cause those things are hard to give away..))

5. i rode a camel. it bucked.

day seven.

i think if i absolutely had to pick a favorite day, it would be this day.

emily, sara, and i were walking around karnigie park.. (around which is a place called Osho.. so the majority of indians believe that's why americans come there.. to experience all that mess.. and if you don't know what Osho is, look it up.. or well, maybe you shouldn't.. it's basically a huge place where people go for sexual experiments in the form of "meditation".. yeah.. and that's their view of us.. just a bunch of selfish white punks that can't live without orgies..)

well, we stopped to check out this little shoe cart and we look up and see tons and tons of the Osho robes.. (everyone has to wear a maroon robe to enter Osho) and when we see everyone staring us down while we're gawking at the robes, we decided it best to just leave..

well, me and sara look up and emily is screaming, wailing her arms and just runs across the street.. (these streets are CRAZY BUSY, by the way.. traffic ALL the time..)) and we had no idea what she was doing.. and then i realized. and too started throwing my arms everywhere and dashed across the road..

we found an elephant.

we had been praying for this opportunity for only our WHOLE LIVES!!! and me and em are freaking out, naturally.. and sara comes up and was like 'yall calm down, or he'll rip you off'.. so, we tried to keep it together.. but it was unsuccessful.. sara just had to talk him down from the ridiculous charge to ride the elephant.. ((we rode that elephant for less than 4 american dollars.. and Lord knows i'da paid a million..))

well. this is how you get on the thing. he kneels on his back legs.. and you have to step on his ginormous foot and climb up his tail.. got this visual?? and then you just hugged his butt/back until you could grab the crate in the middle of his back.. (and i was surprisingly good at getting on this beast..) 

ok. we are all on the elephant. me, em, sara, and the 'driver', i guess.. and naturally i assumed this crate we were on would be sturdy and tightly fastened to this massive animal.. False. when this big ole dude took a step, we went slidin.. and had to shift our weight every single time he moved. or we would tumble off 5,000 feet down.. and when i look around, we had drawn a crowd!! hahaha.. i promise like 50 people were standing around laughing hysterically.. and i tell you why.. if these guys had never heard of Jesus before in their lives, they definitely knew about him before we got off.. i was praying like nobody's business.. "OOOOH JESUS!!! HELP ME LORD! not fall of this crazy animal!! oh sweet Jesus.. i love you, and i know you love me back, so help us ride this elephant and i'm sorry i had to get higher when you did in fact say lo i am with you always.." and God only knows what else i screamed at him.. i had the time of my life on that elephant.. so much fun..

and if we touched no one else in india, we definitely blessed the 150 people that stopped to watch us (and video, YES THEY VIDEOD US!!).. they laughed until they cried.. crazy white people..

and i must confess, i did a horrible thing after the ride. i was SOOO excited and so thankful for this experience, i hugged the old driver man.. i just couldn't help it.. i was so happy..

k. glad that's off my chest..    ;)

AND! we met some amazing and beautiful girls today.. i just went up, sat at their table and took off just a talking.. you would have thought we were all best friends i swear.. 

and conversation was amazing.. and i'd love to re-cap it all, but i'll just share one of my fav. highlights..

me: (-insert my testimony here-)  Jesus loves me like crazy.. my heart is new and now i love him like crazy.. he really changed me..

super cool new indian friend: awwwwww!! that's so sweet!!

hahaaha.. yeah.. it is sweet, ain't it??

day six.

so today, we went to the temples.. and honestly, it just totally ticked me off.. everyone else was so sad about this devotion to false gods.. and yeah, i mean, it is sad, but i was just mad about it.. 

here's why.

they seriously had to RING a BELL to WAKE UP their god.. what the heck?? 

and they brought flowers and offerings to lay before the "god" that was locked up in this cage.. and who knows if he was even really in there!??

and they kissed the walls, prayed on the walls, whatever they could to the precious walls..

i mean, it just seems to me like eventually after years and years of wall kissin and bell ringin, you would realize that this is just not the way.. even despite the thousands of years your ancestors have been doin it..

but i was walkin around the temple and i go and sit by this girl crying.. i dont know what was wrong with her.. ((probably a lot..)) but i did get to talk to her.. and i'm asking about the gods and all, and she just blabbed some stuff.. i asked her if these gods fulfilled her.. and she replies 'yes', while these tears are just streaming down her face.. soooo, i guessed she lied on that one.. and i asked what else they did.. and after a lot of thinking, she said this one god grants wishes.. so i was like, man, that's cool.. ((cause wouldn't it be??)) and then i asked if hers were ever granted and she said yes.. but couldn't give an example.. ((and i'm thinking, man, if these guys are granting wishes, what the heck are yall wishin for?!?! homeless people and poverty EVERYWHERE.. people totally starving every time you turn your head.. i don't see any corvettes anywhere.. i don't see skittle trees anywhere.. i mean, what the world kind of wishes are yall wishing??))  needless to say, i took this as total crap.

and i try to ask more questions, and she confesses she really didn't know a whole lot about the gods or hinduism.. and i could tell..

but the whole thing was just so sad.. her eyes were so gone.. not "lost".. but just so devoted to every other god ever that she was way too blind to see GOD'S (singular) greatness..

saddest story ever..